Wednesday, October 24 2007
EDITORIAL:
Portland Press Herald & Maine Sunday Telegram online
There are good reasons to worry about secondhand smoke, but this is a step too far.
While the dangers of inhaling secondhand smoke are well-recognized, every social sanction comes with a cost. In this case, society protects some people by limiting someone else's freedom of action.
And a proposed bill to bar people from smoking in their own automobiles if they are carrying children imposes too much control to be justified.
Maine and many other states have placed a number of limits on where and when people may smoke. Restaurants, bars, hospitals, workplaces and all public buildings are now no- smoking areas. In addition, landlords have banned smoking in about 40 percent of the state's rental units. More...
